The Art of Simulation

Lionel Messi

For many, if not the majority of football fans, diving is seen as one of the game's true evils. Along with greedy owners, 'anti-football' defending and Sepp Blatter, simulation is aggressively frowned upon, especially in the UK. We know that in many other countries and football cultures, the ability to draw a foul where there was none is almost seen as an art form; a skill that is to be utilised as much as a step-over or body feint. Present such a theory to British football supporters and it will most likely be dismissed as cynical and poor sportsmanship. Whether you lean one way or the other, there is no doubt that the issue of diving is ever-present. The act is evident in almost every match you watch, whatever the level, country or competition, of that there is no escape.

However, when pundits, journalists and fans debate and discuss this issue, are they more often than not missing the point? Certainly, questions have to be asked of a player's level of sportsmanship or his moral compass when trying to fool the referee into thinking he has been fouled. Even more so if that is followed up by the often-seen rigorous attempts to have his opposite number booked or sent off. However, when compared with other problems that plague the game both domestically and across the world, there's an argument to be made that diving is sinking lower down the list. I am not going to suggest that we embrace the art of diving or attempting to get a opposition player penalised, but it is worth making the argument that of all the sins we witness in professional football, it does not warrant the level of scrutiny that the media gives it. 

Firstly, let's look at the other problems that football has to deal with; whatever the level, whatever the league. In the Premier League in recent seasons, much has been made of dangerous tackling, resulting in several serious injuries. We all know of the horror tackles that have caused severe damage to the likes of Eduardo da Silva, Aaron Ramsey and Hatem Ben Arfa. Eduardo, then of Arsenal, was side-lined for almost a full year after suffering a broken left fibula and an open dislocation of his left ankle after a high challenge from Birmingham City's Martin Taylor. Ramsey, also of Arsenal, was the victim of a over-zealous tackle from Stoke City's Ryan Shawcross that left the young Welshman with a double-fracture to his lower right leg; keeping him out of action for 9 months. Newcastle United's Hatem Ben Arfa broke both his left tibia and fibula through a challenge from Manchester City's Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong and was unable to return to action for 10 months.




Hatem Ben Arfa

















I could fill this entire blog with similar examples from across Europe and in the English Premier League it's getting to the stage where we're almost guaranteed at least one serious injury per season. Now clearly, due to the nature of football and especially in England where the pace of the game is arguably quicker and more dynamic than any other top league, collisions and strong tackles are to be expected. But it is incredibly difficult to exonerate a player from responsibility using that as an excuse. We see dozens of examples of good sliding tackles every week across the country, where players are able to dispossess an opponent and win the ball back through a combination of athleticism and good technique. Unfortunately in the UK, media pundits and a large proportion of supporters are happy to allow these poor tackles to continue to be part of the game. Passing it off as an act of passion and determination, rather than filled with any malicious intent.

It only takes a few minutes to find examples of dangerous tackles that are clearly malicious and designed not only to impede a fellow player, but to hurt them too. Roy Keane, Steven Gerrad, Patrick Vieria and Michael Essien have all been guilty of committing to dangerous tackles, in the knowledge that it only requires the victim to be standing in a certain position or for his studs to get caught in the turf to cause serious damage. I am not trying to suggest that slide tackling has no place in modern football, it most certainly does; but tackling should be viewed as a art, a piece of skill akin to that of good passing or close-quarter dribbling. A well-timed tackle is entertaining to watch and excites fans, but should first and foremost look to win the ball and regain possession for that individual's team.



The art of tackling





















So surely bad tackling is a bigger issue than diving? I'm sure from a football perspective; fans would be less annoyed to see a player on their team go down under minimal contact than to throw themselves into an ill-fated two-footed challenge. The punishments would echo such a statement; rather a yellow for attempting to con the referee than a red for attempting to break a leg. Some may say it is a case of over-enthusiasm, but these players are professional and many who commit such tackles are vastly experienced. The excuse that an individual is 'not that kind of player' is usually immediately contradicted by the video evidence we see from out on the pitch.  

The governance of world football has arguably never been under more scrutiny. The corruption scandal that has engulfed football's world governing body, FIFA has cast a deep and dark shadow over the game as a whole. Allegations of bribery concerning high-ranking officials at Sepp Blatter's organisation has led to multiple suspensions and fines for several football administrators, as well as a life-time ban for former Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President and FIFA Executive Committee member, Mohammed bin Hammam. Bin Hamman, who was due to run against current FIFA President in the 2011 Presidential elections, was found guilty of attempting to bribe members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) in the run-up to the vote.

Considering these men are at the highest level within the largest organisation that governs football, it must surely be considered as the most pressing issue with regards to the future of the game. I am not suggesting that the majority of football fans are more concerned with the on-field antics of players than this, rather than when taking into consideration the true impact that an issue such as a diving has, it is worth comparing it to the larger picture with the world of football.

Guilty

Finally, and there is a danger of this becoming a running theme throughout these blog articles, there is the issue of poor football. By 'poor football' I do not mean dull 0-0 draws and match's void of chances and goalmouth action. By 'poor' I mean low quality football; be it a lack of technique, inaccurate passing, little creativity or team's bereft of organisation and tactical acumen. To many, the more goals scored, the better a match becomes. Fans like to see goals, chances and controversy. But do goals always equate to high quality? Liverpool's famous 4-3 victory over Newcastle United in the Premier League during the 1995-1996 season was voted the Premier League's 'Match of the Decade'. There is no denying that it was an incredibly exciting match and no one would surely have failed to be entertained throughout the 90 minutes, but was it a football match of the highest quality? Watch it again and it is peppered with poor defensive play; a lack of organisation and positional intelligence that led to the majority of the 7 goals. Robbie Fowler is unmarked for Liverpool's first goal after 2mins, Liverpool's backline is caught ridiculously high up the pitch in conceding to David Ginola as Newcastle go 2-1 ahead, Asprilla's excellent finish to give Kevin Keegan's men a 3-2 lead is facilitated considerably by an absolutely woeful Liverpool backline that is all over the place and finally Collymore's late winner is virtue of Newcastle's entire defence being drawn to the ball, giving the forward ample time and space to finish. 

So whilst it was exciting, the quality certainly left alot to be desired and is arguably a source of concern for British football. There is nothing wrong with enjoying football for the excitement and goals, but in terms of British teams, both at club and national level catching up with Spain, Germany, Brazil etc., it is important to highlight that the level of technique and skill is lagging behind the world's leading football powers.   

What may be an interesting theory for consideration is that in order to improve the quality of football, especially in a technical aspect, simulation and other unsavoury behaviour may have to be tolerated. Certainly in Britain, skilful, gifted players do not get enough protection off the referees. Over-zealous tackling is usually tolerated and often commended. Look no further than Alan Shearer's deplorable chuckling when reviewing Karl Henry's brutal hatchet job on Joey Barton at Molineux last season. Whatever you think of Barton and he isn't the most popular of professionals, Henry's tackling, both late and malicious, was disgusting and counter-intuitive to high-quality football.

Tolerated

It is almost impossible to cover every facet of this issue on one blog entry. There are so many caveats to address you could almost write a thesis on it. FC Barcelona are held up as the model for modern football teams, mostly for the quality and style of their play. The intricate passing moves that are witnessed almost every match at Camp Nou, whoever the opposition, are arguably the zenith of modern day football. Some clubs around Europe have adopted a similar approach to differing levels. Arsenal are an obvious example, but teams such as Wigan Athletic, AS Roma, Borrusia Dortmund and Ajax all play in similar style and in some cases have cited the current Catalan side as inspiration. Anyone that witnessed Dortmund's opening day 3-1 win at home to Hamburg would have been able to draw comparisons; especially the quick passing and complex movement epitomised by Mario Götze and Shinji Kagawa.

From a personal perspective, I cannot understand why many fans are so dismayed at players trying to win free-kicks and gain similar advantages. Surely this is akin to a player claiming for a throw-in for his side when he knows that he was the last player to touch the ball. Compared to many of the issues discussed above, it seems odd that so many would maintain this level of concern for a rather meaningless issue. Certainly, if you could guarantee its complete eradication then there would be universal approval, but in the mean time the focus should shift to the referees. Officials are certainly more competent than ever before in terms of picking up these offences, but on many occasions we see referees acknowledge an act of simulation, but wave play on, failing to return and issue a yellow card to the offender. A tough, zero tolerance approach would surely help to at least tone down the frequency of these incidents. However, if governing bodies believe that officials would be better served focusing on other more pressing matters, such as dangerous tackling, then by all means do so, and in turn accept that diving has been a part of professional football for generations, despite what nostalgic-infested, history dwellers may perpetuate.